Immortal of the Nine Realms

Nanming Shaoze hesitated for a moment, then clearly explained the key point to Fang Chen and the others.

”Daoist Fang, a Yin Demon close to the Great Yin Demon level has cultivation and abilities roughly comparable to an Ascension Realm cultivator. But due to the special and unpredictable nature of Yin Demons, they cannot be treated exactly like Ascension Realm cultivators. Some of these Yin Demons are quite easy to deal with. In fact, I can even suppress them alone. But others might easily cause someone to fail catastrophically.”

He sincerely advised, ”You all lack experience dealing with Yin Demons, so it’s best to observe first on this trip.”

Du Rufeng frowned at that. ”Daoist Shaoze, if Daoist Fang and the others don’t intervene, our chances of victory won’t be very high. We can’t let this Yin Demon escape, or the losses will be huge. I also spent quite a bit of Yin Lifespan to get this intel.”

Nanming Shaoze’s words caught Fang Chen a bit off guard. It seemed Nanming Shaoze had already changed his attitude. When it came to serious matters, he wouldn’t let his previous resentment interfere.

Fang Chen smiled and said, ”We can cover you and take action opportunistically. This time we’re out to broaden our horizons, and we won’t be claiming any share of the rewards with you.”

Du Rufeng and the others immediately relaxed, smiles appearing on their faces as they nodded lightly. ”You’re a man of principle, Daoist Fang. We should keep in touch in the future.”

Nanming Shaoze nodded. ”That works for me.”

Then the group spread out from different directions, encircling the valley and thoroughly searching the central area, leaving no inch unchecked.

Fang Chen and the others stood at a distance watching.

Lin Yuan whispered, ”Captain, I think this Underworld is quite interesting. There seem to be many opportunities. Walking the Path of Yin might not be such a bad thing.”

”If there weren’t benefits, do you think the Enlightenment God Palace would bother setting up an Underworld Office here? The relationship between the Underworld and the Nine Mortal Realms is like the two sides of a sheet of paper. It doesn’t matter how you try to cut it; there will always be a front and a back—one cannot exist without the other,” said Fang Chen casually.

Lin Yuan and the other three were taken aback. They had never truly thought deeply about it. They always assumed the Underworld was merely a part of the Nine Mortal Realms. But giving it another thought, they vaguely sensed the Underworld held profound importance.

Then why had they never had such thoughts before? What had been missing?

Each of them felt a sort of cognitive dissonance, as if something was disconnected in their perception, yet they couldn’t quite grasp the missing piece.

Fortunately, Nanming Shaoze and the others had already located the hidden Yin Demon within the valley. It was a massive creature resembling a giant centipede. Hundreds of eyes covered its head, and its body stretched at least a hundred zhang long.

Lin Yuan gasped, chills running down his spine. ”What kind of monster is that?”

That Yin Demon exuded a bone-deep coldness.

”Wait, those aren’t eyes!? They’re human heads?” Meng Qingling cried out softly. ”Those are hundreds of human heads?”

From a distance, everyone had assumed they were eyes. But upon closer inspection, they noticed that they were clearly human heads.

”Yin Demons that recklessly plunder Yin Lifespan without adhering to the rules of this realm bear uncontrollable karmic consequences from the lives they’ve consumed. Eventually, they become things like this.”

Fang Chen stared at the thousand-legged insect and could immediately tell its strength was infinitely close to that of a Great Yin Demon, only a step away.

Nanming Shaoze and his group combined were no match for this creature. A plan was already forming in Fang Chen’s mind.

”I was just thinking earlier... if Yin Lifespan is so valuable, why not just rob others for it?” muttered Lin Yuan awkwardly. ”Looks like the rules here in the Underworld are even harsher than in the Nine Mortal Realms.”

Yu Wuxia chuckled. ”The Nine Mortal Realms are harsh too. If you accumulate too much karmic debt, you’ll be struck by tribulation lightning. It’s just... in the Mortal Realm, it’s a bit more civilized than here.”

”Captain,” she continued, ”these Yin Demons... They’ve completely lost their reason, haven’t they?”

Fang Chen nodded. ”Mm. Right now, all they see is Yin Lifespan. And how to seize more of it.”

”No wonder they must be captured. Beings like this would disrupt the entire order if left unchecked.”

At that moment, Nanming Shaoze and his team had already engaged the Yin Demon in battle. Since many techniques from the Mortal Realm are unusable in the Underworld, the combat style here naturally differed as well.

However, the Heavenly Sniping Art seemed to still function in this realm, and Nanming Shaoze employed it. Terrifying arrows shot out of nowhere, piercing straight into the thousand-legged Yin Demon, attempting to deal a heavy blow. But the moment the arrows were halfway in, they were shattered into dust by the force within the creature’s body.

The Heavenly Sniping Art not only failed to land an effective strike, but it also looked utterly ineffective.

Nanming Shaoze’s expression changed slightly. He now fully understood this Yin Demon was not to be trifled with. He began coordinating with Du Rufeng and the others, trying to wear down the creature’s strength through prolonged engagement.

”Captain,” Lin Yuan whispered, ”the Yin Demon easily brushed off Nanming Shaoze’s Heavenly Sniping Art.”

Fang Chen said calmly, ”The weakness of Heavenly Sniping is that it can’t strike down powerful foes. But its strength lies in never giving the weak a chance to survive. If this Yin Demon’s strength were on par with Nanming Shaoze, that one arrow just now would’ve been enough to suppress it.”

Everyone suddenly understood. No wonder the Heavenly Sniping Art wasn’t particularly famous among many arts. It had a very specific use.

Half an hour later, the entire valley was destroyed as the battle had reached its climax.

Nanming Shaoze and the others were injured, while the thousand-legged Yin Demon only grew more ferocious the longer it fought. Its twisting body swung with terrifying force, and the sharp claws along its flanks were like dozens of gleaming blades. In one vicious swipe, they nearly sliced Du Rufeng and the others in half.

Almost there.

Fang Chen assessed the timing of the battle. Just as he was about to step in... the Yin Demon suddenly erupted with an unimaginably terrifying burst of Yin energy.

In the blink of an eye, its body and aura expanded several times over.

It advanced?

The thousand-legged Yin Demon had actually advanced to the realm of a Great Yin Demon. The equivalent of a first-transformation immortal in the Nine Mortal Realms.

In an instant, the battlefield flipped on its head. Nanming Shaoze and the others were all violently thrown back at the same time.

Nanming Shaoze roared furiously, ”Not good!”

”This Yin Demon has advanced into a Great Yin Demon! Damn it! It was in seclusion here, seeking a breakthrough. The intel you bought was wrong!”

”Shit! Run!”

Du Rufeng didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even entertain the thought of resisting. Instead, he turned and fled immediately.

But no matter how fast they were, could they outpace a newly advanced first transformation Yin Demon? Almost instantly, it caught up.

Just as the group was staring death in the face, divine souls on the verge of annihilation, a single arrow struck the thousand-legged Great Yin Demon.

Its appearance shifted the demon’s attention, and it turned immediately, charging toward the source of the shot—Fang Chen.

Taking advantage of that, Fang Chen swiftly fled toward the southern direction.

Within moments, the valley fell into silence.

Nanming Shaoze and the others looked at each other in astonishment.

Lin Yuan and his group were also momentarily stunned, expressions dazed.

Du Rufeng asked in disbelief, ”Did... did Daoist Fang really lure that Great Yin Demon away for us?”

Nanming Shaoze nodded with a complicated look in his eyes. ”It seems so...”

Gratitude welled up in his heart.

Du Rufeng said awkwardly, ”This... So you and Daoist Fang were actually on good terms? I honestly thought you were trying to set him up to embarrass himself earlier...”

Nanming Shaoze looked even more embarrassed because that had indeed been his original intention.

But Nanming Shaoze soon recovered from his shock and declared decisively, ”No. He is absolutely no match for a Great Yin Demon! The rest of you return and call for reinforcements. I’m going after him.”

Without another word, he turned and took off in the direction where Fang Chen and the thousand-legged Great Yin Demon had vanished.